Door locking device for demountable bodies



Jam 2%, 1936. B T H DOOR LOCKING DEVICE F OR DEMOUNTABLE BODIES Filed Sept. 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Elma/whom J g/Z LP 1 a v F M, H 25% D. 7. WWW: 5/ v 5 w E /r. VJ W d. r ll f m w i q, g z m w a i flx I z w B x M w JA Q I F 5 6 mm v 5 L? .U. w w f r Z a 2M m, 7 M w g Jan. 28, 136. B F r 2,432,771

DOOR LOCKING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE BODIES Filed Sept. 15, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mf Q 53ml 9 Patented Jan. 28, 1936 hearse stares orricr.

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DOSE LOCKING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNT- ABLE BODIES Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn, assignor to Motor Terminals Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 13, 1933, Serial No. 689,231

18 Claims. (01. 189-46) This invention relates to demountable bodies adapted to be loaded with package freight and transferred with their loads from a highway truck toa railway car and vice versa. The invention is concerned particularly with means for eiiectively locking the doors of such containers. It is desirable to have a pair of doors hinged adjacent their outer edges, so that there may be a wide opening for loading and unloading. The present invention provides a locking post at the meeting edges of the doors adapted to hold them effectively closed and resist any outward pressure in the vicinity of such meeting edges.

I also provide for effectively bracing the doors in regions between the locking post and the hinges and thus the doors may effectively resist the impact of the load against any part of the doors. This is particularly important in the case of end doors, where the sudden starting or stopping of the railway train is likely to cause the contents of the container to impinge with considerable force against the doors at one end or the other of the container.

Another feature of the invention is concerned with a duplex arrangement for sealing locks on the locking post, enabling either of two parties to independently seal the container, and requiring the breakage of both seals to obtain access to the interior. Thus the shipper may lock the doors and attach his seal, and thereafter the transporting agency may also attach their seal, thereafter either lock effectively maintains the doors closed and both eals must be broken to allow the opening.

My invention is illustrated in the drawings hereof and is hereinafter more fully explained in connection therewith, and the essential novel features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an end view of the demountable body; Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sec tions, partly broken away, on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 1; d is a side elevation of the locking post removed; Fig. 5 is a detail adjacent the upper portion of the post, being a vertical section on the line 55 on Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a view on a larger scale showing the locking members at the lower portion of the post,

being a vertical section on the line 86 on Fig. 2 but showing the right hand member in a temporarily elevated position; Figs. '7 and 8 are details of removable door braces, being vertical sections on the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 3; Figs. 9 and 19 are details of the locking post, being horizontal ections on the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 6.

In Fig. 1, A indicates a demountable body having a pair of end doors B secured to the body by hinges C adjacent the side edges. The body has a sturdy floor frame D and side'walls and end walls secured thereto, the side walls not appearing in the view and the end walls being designated E. There is also a suitable roof F. The side walls are equipped with lifting hooks G by which the body may be raised with its load. The door jamb for the end doors comprises a Z-bar construction, the upper member of which is illustrated at H in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower member of which J in those figures is connected to the floor frame D and forms a suitable stop for the edges of the wooden floor planking K.

The construction described in the preceding paragraph is shown and claimed in prior patents of mine, and is not claimed here except in so far as may be in combination with the locking and bracing features about to be described.

In the present invention, the two doors B are provided at their meeting edges with reinforcing channel bars iii, each of which embraces the edge of the door and has a web II on the outer side of the door, this web terminating in an out.- wardly extending flange 12.

The locking post 28 is composed of two angle bars with two of their flanges 2| in alignment and their flanges 22 back to back, and two other angle bars with flanges bearing against the outer sides or" the flanges 22 and with flanges 25 parallel with the flanges 2!. These four angle bars are effectively secured together by rivets 25 passing through the four engaging flanges, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 10. This makes a very stiff and flrin post with openings in its opposite sides and with an inwardly extending tongue.

When the post is in place, the angle flanges 2 seat in the channel shaped recess provided by the webs ii of the door reinforces I0, while the tongue of the post stands between the meeting edges of the doors. To hold the post in this position, it is provided at its upper end with a pair of rigidly held extension bars 26 which are adapted to lie behind a cross bar on the end frame of the body, this cross bar being shown as a downwardly extending Z-bar 28 secured to the lower portion of the end irame E above the doorway and secured also to the door jamb member H.

To look the lower end of the post it is provided with a pair of sliding bolts 30 which are adapted to extend downwardly into a keeper 32 secured to the floor frame D and to the lower door jamb member J, as shown in Fig. 5. The locking bolts, near their upper ends, have outwardly turned portions 3i extending beyond the sides of the posts by which they may be readily raised to idle position, as shown in the case of the right hand bolt in Fig. 6.

I hold the bolts 30 slidably within the post by means of short angle bars 35 extending about the outer and rear faces of the bolts and secured to the post. I can readily accomplish this attachment by welding one flange of this angle bar 35 to the inner face of the flange 2i of the post. Preferably a suitable shim 38 is provided between the other flange of this member 35 and the flange 24 and these parts are welded together. This makes a hollow guideway substantially square in cross section and effectively hcus-, ing the bolt, preventing any rotating thereof while allowing it to readily drop by gravity.

By reason of the post seating between the flanges l2 of the door members, the post is prevented from any swinging action in the plane of the doors; the twoupwardly projecting bars 26 and the two bolts 35 prevent any twisting of the post when in place, and there is not enough vertical play to allow either end to clear its keeper idle, they extend upwardly from their pivots and incline slightly inwardly to rest against the flanges 22, where they remain until it is desired to use them to lock the latch posts. This is illustrated in the right hand half of Fig. 6.. Now,

when the bolts have been lowered to lock the post, the links 40 may be swung down over them, asiilustrated in the left hand portion of Fig. 4.

In this position the link lies directly above the bolt and the bolt cannot be raised, as the most I the bolt can do is to cam the link slightly toward the center or" the post until it abuts the flange 22.

Each link M1 is provided with a hoie 42 through it adjacent its free end, and when the link is 9.0- tive this hole registers with a hole through the flange 2| of the post. Now, if a seal is passed through these two registerin holes, as illustrated at 45 in Figs. 1 and 2, it wili provide an effective telltale to indicate whether the door has been opened since sealing.

In use, the shipper or original trucker after loading the body will close the doors and allow the bolts to drop into the locking post and 'will then turn down one of the links 40 and seal it. Thereafter, when the container with its load intact is delivered to'the railway company for rail transportion, the latter will turn down the other link 40 and apply its own seal thereto. Thus a protection is obtained during the entire route from consignor to consignee and at the same time the seals'applied are individual to the trucker and railway company so that if there should have been any pilferage, it can be ascertained wl'iich transporter had the body in charge at that time.

Explaining the above more fully, if the body is' loaded Completely at the place of a single con:

signo'r, the first seal is applied when the body is delivered to the trucker, or if the trucker gathers the load from several sources the seal is applied after he has completed the loading, and, in any case, is sealed when the body is deiivered to the railroad company. The railroad company thereown seal.

the final trucker, it should have two seals intact;

fore receives the body sealed and gives a receipt so stating, and when the body is installed'on the railroad car, the railway company applies its Then when the body is delivered to If the seals are broken, the final trucker will refuse to receive the body until the contents is checked, as it will be definitely established while the body wasin charge of the railroad company.

The door locking post by reason of its flanges 22 extending between the doors has very considerable depth in the horizontal direction, longitudinally of the body, and this tends to resist any outwardly bowing of the doors at the meeting edges due to the impact of the load against the door. To further resist this impact, I provide upright beams 50, shown as made from railroad rails with the end webs reduced in height 7 adjacent the opposite ends and the head of the rails correspondingly bent as shown at 5|. ,The upper ends of these brace bars are designed to seat behind the body flanges 28 while the lower being adapted to receive the upper ends of the brace bars when such ends are inserted behind the flange 28. After inserting the upper ends of the bars in these clips, the bar is swung into a sufliciently diagonal positionso that its lower end may enter a notch 55 in the base flange 52 and be passed behind that flange then swung into a vertical position. When in such vertical position,

it abuts a stop 56 secured to the flange, limiting its movement in that direction, and means is provided to limit its movement in the opposite direction.

As shown in Fig.1, I prefer to provide for each door B, a pair of brace bars 50. Each of these bars when inserted-at the upper end in the corresponding clip 53 has its lower end passed through the notch 55 and is then swung outwardly against the stopit so that the two bars are vertical as shown in Figs. 1 and 7.. Thereafter, a distance piece shown at 51, in Fig. 7, is inserted between the two brace bars and prevents their lower ends being swung toward each other. This block will efiectively ride imposition in the recesses provided between the flange 52 and the vertical face of the door jamb, especially as it makes a reasonably tight connection with such flange and face and the two brace bars. When it is desired to remove the block; this is readily effected by inserting a pry through the notch 55 passing beneath the block, or a hole may be prorided through the horizontal flange-of t re beam as illustrated at 58 in Fig. 7, for the insertion a suitable tool. 7

It will be seen, from the description given, that I have provided a very effective bracing for the end doors of the container. By locating the post flanges and the upper bars and lower bolts directly in front of the reinforcement webs on the door edges, the outward stresses in the central region are thoroughly resisted, wh le any resulting tendency to bow outwardly between the free edges and the hinges is resisted by'tne intermediate bracing. Thus the doors will not be distorted during rail transportation, even though they may be subjected to severe blows on their'in'ner sides by the shifting contents of the container. 'Likewise, I have provided effective means to hold the doorslocked under double sealing, enabling each transporter to protect himself from unwarranted charges of having tampered with the contents of the container.

Reference is made to my copending application No; 668,514, filed April 29th, 1933, for claims on the feature of the removable brace bar extending across an intermediate region of the door and secured to the body above and below the door.

I claim:

1. The combination of a demountable automobile body having a pair of hinged doors, the free edges of which are adjacent when the doors are closed, combined with a removable door post adapted to overlap the edges of both doors, and equipped with a pair of locking bolts, both of which may project beyond the same end of the post and each of which stands in front of one of the doors respectively.

2. The combination of a container having a pair of hinged doors with their free edges adjacent when the doors are closed, a removable locking post having a portion adapted to extend between the doors and carrying a pair of movable bolts, each of which is in front of one of the doors when the post is in place.

3. A container having a pair of doors with their free edges adjacent when closed, each door having an outward vertical flange on its outer face, and a removable locking post engageable at its ends with respective portions of the container, the post being adapted to engage the outer face of both doors and be located between the flanges thereof.

4. The combination of a pair of hinged doors having their meeting edges adjacent when closed, each doo-r being reinforced at its free edge by a member extending across such edge and onto the outer face thereof, and a removable rigid locking post adapted to seat against said reinforcing members, and engage the doorway above and below said doors.

5. The combination of a pair of hinged doors having their meeting edges adjacent when closed, each door having a reinforcing member on the outer face thereof adjacent the edges, said memher being turned outwardly as a flange, and a removable locking post adapted to seat against both of said reinforcing members and between the flanges thereof.

6. The combination of a pair of doors, the free edges of which are adjacent when the doors are closed, each door having its edge reinforced by a channel-shaped embracing member having an outward flange, and a locking post having a portion adapted to extend between the doors, and portions bearing against the webs of the channels on the outer side of the door and between the flanges of the channels.

'7. The combination of a pair of doors hingedly supported at their outer edges and having their free edges adjacent when closed, a door post removably associated with both doors and adapted to stand in front of both doors and overlap the free edges thereof, said door post being hollow and carrying a pair of bolts near one end of the post, each bolt standing in front of one of the doors.

8. The combination of a pair of doors supported on hinges adjacent one edge and having the other edges free and adjacent each other when the doors are closed, a locking post adapted to bear against the outer faces of the two doors adjacent the free edges, said post having an intermediate web adapted to extend between the doors and having two vertical housings directly in front of the engaging portions of the doors, and locking bolts slidably mounted in said housings.

9. The combination of a pair of doors hinged adjacent their outer edges and having their inner edges free, a locking post adapted to overlap the free edges of both doors when they are closed, said post having a vertical front plate and a vertical rear plate spaced therefrom and a central transverse partition extending beyond the rear plate, the rear plate being adapted to engage the outer face of the doors and sliding bolts between said front and rear plates.

10. A door post for looking a pair of doors having free edges, said post having a front face adapted to stand in front of the two doors and portions at right angles thereto adapted to extend between the doors and angle bars secured to the outer face of said inwardly extending portions and adapted to bear against the outer face of the doors.

11. A door post for locking the adjacent edges of a pair of hinged doors, said post comprising a pair of angle bars back to back, the second pair of angle bars with their flanges extending parallel with those of the first mentioned bars, the outwardly extending flanges of the latter pair bearing against the outer sides of the inwardly extending flanges of the former pair, and means for securing together such four engaging flanges.

12. The combination of a door frame and a pair of doors hingedly mounted and having free adjacent edges, a removable locking post adapted to overlap both doors, said post having two vertical housings in its lower portion in front of the doors respectively, vertical bolts in the respective housings each having an extending portion at an angle to the bolt and substantially parallel with the outer face of the door and means associated with the door frame for retaining the upper end of the post.

13. The combination of a container having a pair of doors hinged thereto with free edges adjacent each other when closed, a locking post adapted to overlap the two doors, a pair of bolts carried by the post adjacent its lower end and individual means for sealing the two bolts.

14.. The combination of a pair of doors having free edges adjacent each other, 'a locking post adapted to overlap the two doors, two bolts carried by the post in front of the doors respectively for locking the post, and individual latches for the two bolts.

15. The combination of a container having a pair of doors with free edges adjacent when closed, a locking post having a pair of vertical housings near its lower end, vertically slidable bolts mounted in said housings and adapted to stand directly in front of the two doors respectively, a pair of links pivoted to the post and each adapted to turn down to prevent the upward movement of the corresponding bolt.

16. The combination of a container, a pair of doors hinged thereto having their free edges adjacent when closed, a locking post, a pair of bolts slidably carried by said post and each standing in front of its respective door, a keeper on the container adapted to receive said bolts when lowered, said post carrying a pair of links pivoted thereto, each adapted to be swung up into idle position or swung down into position to prevent raising of the bolts.

1'7. The combination of a container, a pair of doors hinged thereto adjacent their outer edges, a locking post adapted tooverlap the free edges upper end adapted to engage a retaining device 7 of the two doors, said post having locking bolts lying in front of the doors, and intermediate braces for the doors between the locking post and the hinges whereby the impact'of the load against the inner face of the door is effectively resisted.

18. The combination of a container having a doorway in its end, a pair of doors hinged to the container adjacent their outer edges and having their free edges adjacent each other when closed, a locking post adapted to extend across the meeting edges of the doors on the outer side thereof, said post having projections at its on the container and having bolts at its lower end adapted also to engage a retaining device on the container, said projections and bolts being directly in front of the doors, and vertical means between the posts and hinges to brace the door intermediately, said means engaging retainers on the container above and below the doors whereby impact of the load against any portion of the inner face of the doors is effectively resisted;

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. 

